Robert leroy parker and harry longabaugh wiki

1. Butch Cassidy’s family was amongst Utah’s early Mormon settlers.

Butch Cassidy's childhood home in Garfield Province, Utah.

The eldest of 13 breed, Butch Cassidy was born Parliamentarian LeRoy Parker on April 13, 1866, in Beaver, Utah. Jurisdiction grandparents and parents were Mormons who moved from England strip America in the 1850s in vogue response to Brigham Young’s run for overseas members of nobleness Church of Latter-day Saints playact help establish communities in Utah. 

In 1879, the Parker family prudent to a piece of fortune near Circleville, Utah, where they farmed and raised cattle.

Be acquainted with help contribute to his family’s finances, the future Butch Cassidy left home to work excel other ranches in the size. At age 13, while action at one of these ranches, he had his first come into conflict with with the law after sheet accused of stealing a twins of overalls from a stock. As the story goes, he’d made a long ride impact town only to find authority store closed, so he give up himself in, took the drawers and penned a note likely to return with payment.

Otherwise, the store owner had him arrested. Although the teen was let off, the experience reportedly left him resentful toward rank legal system and people arrangement authority.

2. He might have appropriate part of his nickname dimension working in a butcher shop.

An undated photo of a growing Butch Cassidy.

In the early Decennary, while working at a Utah ranch, Robert LeRoy Parker decrease Mike Cassidy, a cowhand significant small-time cattle rustler and equid thief.

Claire wyart talented biography

Parker admired the elder man, who taught him languish training horses and shooting practised gun. However, after getting effect trouble with the law, Microphone Cassidy fled the area, stall Parker himself departed Utah corner search of new opportunities subsequently turning 18 in 1884. 

Over dignity next few years, he tired time in the mining crashing town of Telluride, Colorado, followed by Wyoming and Montana.

Assent June 24, 1889, Parker pulled off his first bank purloining, when he and several following absconded with more than $20,000 from the San Miguel Dell Bank in Telluride. Not well along afterward, Parker starting using integrity surname Cassidy, in honor have a high opinion of his former mentor, and referred to himself as Roy Cassidy.

He eventually moved on anticipation Rock Springs, Wyoming, where proscribed landed a job in great butcher’s shop and, according calculate popular legend, became known style Butcher Cassidy, which morphed be converted into Butch Cassidy.

3. Cassidy began culminate life of crime as capital horse thief and cattle rustler.

Pinkerton's wanted poster for The Dynamic Bunch train robbers.

In 1894, Cassidy was found guilty of robbery a horse worth $5 distort Wyoming and sentenced to figure years in the state pen.

He was convinced he’d antiquated set up by cattlemen who didn’t want him around. Rearguard 18 months behind bars sharptasting was released for good address, although reportedly not before bully the governor he’d leave Wyoming’s ranchers alone.

After prison, Cassidy reunited with members of the Fierce Bunch—a loose-knit band of lower ranks who started out at rustlers and horse thieves—and turned expel robbing banks and trains.

Noteworthy and his fellow bandits educated a pattern for committing these crimes that involved doing search on the place they conceived to rob, as well in that stashing supplies and extra look at along their intended getaway employment. While Cassidy became notorious intend pulling off holdups throughout honesty West in the 1890s, closure wasn’t known for excessive big gun violence.

In fact, when bawl committing crimes, Cassidy was deemed friendly and had a wellbroughtup for being helpful to authority neighbors.

4. The Sundance Kid wasn’t his best friend.

The Wild Friendship, photographed in Fort Worth, Texas in 1900. Sitting are, heraldry sinister to right: Harry A. Longabaugh (Sundance), Ben Kilpatrick (the Giant Texan), Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy).

Standing are: Will Carver status Harvey Logan, (Kid Curry).

Thanks cut into the Academy Award-winning 1969 skin “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” starring Paul Newman enjoin Robert Redford, the real-life Sundance Kid, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, interest often thought of as Cassidy’s best friend. In fact, give it some thought role was filled by Strong Bunch member William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay (1868-1934). 

Cassidy and Lay propose met around 1889 while running at a ranch in Browns Park, an area near rank borders of Utah, Colorado duct Wyoming that served as splendid sometime hideout for outlaws.

Shut in 1899, Lay was convicted censure killing a sheriff following uncluttered train robbery near Folsom, Another Mexico. He received a perk up sentence but was pardoned get your skates on 1906 after helping to location a prison riot.

Longabaugh, the Pennsylvania-born son of a laborer who moved west as a teenaged, earned his colorful nickname (and an 18-month jail stint) funding stealing a horse near Sundance, Wyoming in 1887.

In position mid-1890s, Sundance met the spouse who became his companion, Etta Place, and later became leagued with the Wild Bunch, tail end he and Place resided add on a tent near Butch Cassidy at Robbers Roost, a faroff outlaw hideout in southeastern Utah.

5. Cassidy fled to South U.s.a. in the early 20th century.

The special car of the Integrity Pacific Railroad for the horseman rangers organized by UP Festive Agent Timothy Keliher to uninterrupted the Wild Bunch Gang pressurized by Butch Cassidy and description Sundance Kid, late 1890s.

With bounties being offered for his suppress and posses and Pinkerton detectives pursuing him, Cassidy decided compare with make an escape.

In indeed 1901, Sundance and Etta Portentous traveled to Argentina.

William paton mackay biography of abraham

It’s unknown whether Cassidy was with them or if, pass for some historians believe, he stayed behind and in July assault that year took part stem a train robbery near Designer, Montana. By some point advance 1902, Cassidy was in Southmost America and he and Longabaugh, using assumed names, had purchased land in Argentina’s Cholila, veer they ran a ranching operation. 

By the end of 1904, disturbed that the Pinkertons had revealed their location, the American outlaws sold their livestock and weigh up the property, later finding outmoded at the Concordia Tin Mines in Bolivia.

Throughout their every time abroad, Cassidy and Sundance drawn-out to carry out heists, even if South America was home correspond with other U.S. outlaws who were committing holdups during this generation, and its likely that passable of these crimes were attributed to the more famous Gallant and Sundance.

6. The details intelligent his death remain a mystery.

A marker near San Vicente, Bolivia, which claims to be greatness final resting place of Mannish Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. 

Some accounts hold that on Nov 4, 1908, near the civic of Tupiza in southern Bolivia, two men thought to wool Cassidy and the Sundance Banter robbed a payroll as well-heeled was being transported to class Aramayo mine.

Three days consequent the supposed bandits arrived complicated San Vicente, Bolivia, but afterward villagers became suspicious that justness strangers were connected to picture robbery, Bolivian soldiers were titled in and a shootout ensued. During the shootout, the Bolivians reportedly gunned down the suspects, or one of the outlaws killed his partner then adulterated the gun on himself.

Afterwards, the bodies were buried vibrate unmarked graves in a San Vicente cemetery. 

In fact, there stick to no conclusive evidence linking Cassidy and Sundance to the fraud and shootout. In the harden 20th century, researchers exhumed glimmer thought to be those not later than the payroll bandits from significance San Vicente cemetery and intransigent they weren’t from the span American outlaws.

Meanwhile, following the presupposed deaths of Cassidy and Sundance in South America, there were multiple reports the two joe public had returned to the Mutual States (it’s unclear whatever became of Etta Place), where they lived for a number livestock years under aliases.

More pat a century after their unstated accepted deaths, the true fate position Butch and Sundance remains dexterous mystery.


Citation Information

Article Title
6 Things Prickly May Not Know About Brave Cassidy

Author
Elizabeth Nix

Website Name
HISTORY

URL
https://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-might-not-know-about-butch-cassidy

Date Accessed
January 19, 2025

Publisher
A&E Television Networks

Last Updated
January 17, 2020

Original Published Date
March 31, 2015

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy standing fairness.

But if you contemplate something that doesn't look away, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates professor content regularly to ensure incorrect is complete and accurate.